Mass Effect: The Superman
by Magik8ball
Summary: If you are reading my previous story, Mass Effect: The Bat's Legacy then this story should be familiar. This is a combination of two different franchises, none of which I own. This is a fan-fiction following Superman in the Mass Effect Universe. I read all comments and hope you enjoy.
1. Prologue

Prologue

"It is forbidden for you to interfere in the matters of the universe. Your destiny is connected to Earth and its inhabitants. Live among them, learn where your abilities can be used, my son, and know that we will always be with you."

_These were words my biological father and mother left to me as they sent me away. They were scared, yet hopeful, that sending me away would spare me from the destruction that awaited them. I later learned that I had travelled for months before passing through a Mass Relay and crashing on the only home I have ever known; Earth._

_That seems so long ago now. It has now been just about two years since I revealed myself to the world, and therefore the galaxy. They have come to call me "The First Alien on Earth" and "Earth's Champion", but most know me simply as Superman._

_I can't help but think back on my life now. I record this message inside the Fortress, because frankly, I don't know what I will find beyond Earth's Relay. I have served Earth faithfully and it will always be my home, but believe it is time for me to take to the stars and join the galaxy. There is so much life and conflict beyond Earth, and I know my father has forbidden me, but it is what I feel I must do. _

_I am Kal-El of Krypton, Clark Kent to those closest to me and I stand on the precipice of great change in the galaxy, hopefully for the better._

* * *

It all began over 2,000 years ago, in a time of change at the beginning of the Council Era. All seemed prosperous for the up and coming species, until a threat emerged from the deepest parts of the galaxy. They were an insectoid like species, calling themselves Rachni. The Rachni swarmed the galaxy in large numbers, sweeping aside all defenses led by the galaxy's forces. The Salarians saw no other choice but to uplift a warrior race to combat the Rachni. The mighty Krogan fought back the Rachni hordes, but the Rachni had a wide spread to their attack. They had sent troops to every corner of the galaxy, even those yet unknown to the council.

One exploratory group reached a system through a Mass Relay and found no habitable planets or anything worth scavenging. The group was commanded to continue their search, and so the small armada of ships travelled beyond the Relay's system in search of another. It took a few months until the Rachni ships picked up signs of a solar system. It was noted the system had a giant red star with one habitable planet. The red star reminded the Rachni of their now distant homeworld. This made them eager to take the planet for themselves, in what would be a swift and deadly strike.

The Rachni were wrong. The blue planet was populated by a proud warrior species who called themselves Kryptonians. The native race was not advanced, but what they lacked in technology they made up in spirit. After only a few years, the Kryptonians were victorious, eliminating the Rachni presence from their planet. Though the Rachni were gone, they left Krypton with unseen scar. From that day on, Krypton would be forever fearful of what lied beyond the skies. And so in the centuries that passed, Krypton formed a xenophobic culture, forever wary of what could be out there.

It did not hinder the planet however, over 2,100 years later the blue jewel thrived into one of the most technological races in the galaxy, without the influence of others. The once warrior race had evolved into great thinkers and scientists. Krypton still feared outside forces, never even questioning what was beyond their system and red giant star, Rao. There was a great peace on planet for many years, but forces started to gather demanding a change in Kryptonian politics. A radical group wanted the governing council to focus more on military than science. They campaigned that alien forces were going to attack and that Krypton should be more ready.

The struggle continued into 2156 IE (Independent Era). In a peaceful part of the main continent of Krypton, it was a day like any other. The red sun hung high in the sky and all seemed well. A renowned scientist sat in his lab atop a hill, lost in his work. He was always seen as an outsider among the others in the scientific community. The scientist often disobeyed Krypton law by monitoring the skies and tracking star movements. On this day, the scientist was checking solar levels of Rao through a crystalline scope. He was analyzing data from the star when something crossed his view in the scope.

The scientist focused on the object, which was falling fast. His eyes went wide seeing the object was on fire and hurling towards the hill in which his laboratory sat upon. The fireball crashed into the hillside, narrowly missing the lab. The impact shook the entire building. He sat back in his chair in disbelief. He quickly shook his head and leaped out of his chair. He started to gather equipment and ran to the door. On his way he yelled to his wife/lab assistant, "Lara! Are you ok?!"

The pair headed down the hill to the crash site. The area was deserted, the scientist preferred the seclusion. Which meant no one would know about the crash for some time, giving him time to examine it. The crash happened near the base of the hill, in a crystalline forest. The forest had stalks of crystals nearly eight feet tall.

It was nearly evening now, with daylight dwindling through the crystal stalks. The scientist and wife walked down the hill, reaching the site. The debris was mostly contained by the crystalline trees. The scientist slowly looked over the crash, and after seeing metal debris realized it was a small exploratory ship, holding no more than four or five full size adults.

"Jor-El, please be careful" pleaded Lara, holding to her husband's arm. The scientist nodded and slowly approached what looked to be a door to the shuttle. He ran his hand across the smooth metal and then hit it with the palm of his hand to see if anyone was inside. There was nothing but silence, until a few moments later when the door attempted to open, going only halfway up. Jor-El placed his hands on the bottom of the door and strained to lift it up. It was up enough for him to peer through.

Jor-El saw nothing but darkness and red alert lights blinking. He slowly put one foot inside, watching closely for whatever was inside. Suddenly something grabbed his ankle, causing him to jump back into Lara behind him.

"What was it?" asked Lara helping her husband back to his feet.

"I'm not sure" he replied as he knelt down in front of the doorway. On instinct he held out his hand through the doorway when something reached out and grabbed it. The first thing Jor-El noticed was that the hand was a dark purple pigment. He grabbed the hand back and carefully began to pull it out of the ship doorway.

Jor-El and Lara both held their breath seeing the figure laid out in front of them. Its dark skin seemed to be blue and shined purple under the red sun. Its features were feminine, but with strange frills across her head. She wore tight clothing, looking almost military style.

Jor-El and Lara both knelt down around her. Jor-El held her head up and looked her over. She was bleeding from her torso and several other wounds. The blood was dark and purple. Jor-El looked to his wife as she nodded back with sympathetic eyes. The scientist looked back down to the alien and was amazed to see that she started to speak.

She spoke slowly, taking hard breaths in between words. Jor-El didn't recognize the strange language and so quickly reached into his equipment bag hung around him. He grabbed a small crystal that was rectangular with a sharp end. Jor-El swiped his thumb on a smooth edge of the device causing the pointy end to glow with a yellow hue.

He lowered the device near the alien's mouth to record what she was saying, hoping to translate it later. The blue alien continued to speak, coughing up purple blood in between breaths. As she spoke, she gestured to her ship and then slowly held onto Jor-El's hand. Her last words were softer as she slowly closed her eyes and went limp in the scientist's arms.

The scientist and his wife looked despairingly at the dead alien. Jor-El swiped the crystal, stopping the recording. Authorities still had no idea about the crash and so Jor-El and Lara were able to remove the other four bodies from inside the wreckage and bury them in an honorable manner. Jor-El assigned drones to move the ship debris to his main laboratory for further study. The crash site now looked like an ordinary meteor had impacted the crystal forest.

A few days after the incident, representatives of the council came by Jor-El's estate questioning the crash. The scientist stated that is was merely a meteor and that there wasn't even anything left to study. The authorities went over the site with scanners and found nothing. They had no reason to doubt Jor-El; after all he was one of the most renowned scientists on the planet. The representatives bid him well and went on their way.

A year had passed, making it 2157IE, the last galactic year Krypton will see and much had changed. The civil unrest had reached a boiling point and a war broke out. The Civil War waged in parts all over the world, but Jor-El's lab remained far enough from the cities to be uninvolved.

In the past year, much had change for the House of El as well. Lara had given birth to their first son. He was their jewel, with a spitting image of his father. The boy was born on one of the starriest nights Jor-El or Lara had ever seen on Krypton and so named him Kal-El, the star child. Jor-El had never been happier, but was also constantly thinking how the war could affect his family.

In the years' time, Jor-El had cracked the alien language that he recorded from the dead explorer. On the day that he finally had deciphered what she had said he called in Lara, who was holding the young infant in her arms.

"…_we came from the system next to this one….something attacked our ship…captain ordered full evac. Don't even know if you can understand…*cough*…we've been traveling for so long…you look so different, but and yet still Asari…tell…I love her…"_

"They were explorers, sent by a great council" Jor-El told his wife, having gathered such information from what files were left on the ships systems.

"She called herself, an Asari?" Lara asked calming the gurgling baby.

"Yes" sighed the scientist as he bowed his head and said under his breath, "Rest easy, young Asari".

Jor-El had become paranoid in the last few months, fearing this Civil War would tear Krypton apart. He had begun measuring seismic activity and monitoring how Krypton's weapons were impacting the planet. Jor-El feared the worst. He pleaded the council to stop this war, but none headed his warnings. Eventually he got fed up with the politics and secluded himself in his lab. He worked for weeks on end, tinkering with the left over materials from Asari's ship. He had never experimented with propulsion systems and space exploration and so had much to learn.

Jor-El was able to construct a ship using the Asari's materials and combining them with kryptonian technology. At first he wanted to build a ship big enough for his entire family, but had too few parts. He then decided that it would just be Lara and young Kal-El, but with the parts available, he would be endangering them both. With much heart ache, he realized there was only one answer. Combining Kryptonian crystal technology and what was left over from the Asari's ship, Jor-El successfully made a ship large enough for one, tiny passenger: his son.

Seismic activity was growing more intense every day. The war was getting closer to his family home. Jor-El knew there was not much time. In the last days, he had decoded the Asari's navigations systems and communication channels. There was so much to learn and go over in such little time. He read of other races called "Salarians and Turians" and how recently these Turians had engaged a new species in war, one who called themselves Humans.

Jor-El monitored transmissions from the Turians about the new found race and was amazed to find that the Humans looked nearly identical to Kryptonians. The resemblance was uncanny. The Turians were thorough in their reports, noting that humans belonged to a system with a yellow sun on a planet they call Earth.

Jor-El was deep in thought as his whole estate shook from the blast of a powerful weapon, not far. The scientist looked at his readings of Krypton and the escalation of the war; they only had hours to prepare.

* * *

"But we know nothing about these humans, how do we know he will be safe?" cried Lara, holding young Kal-El wrapped in a blanket.

It had taken some convincing from Jor-El, but in the end Lara knew there was only one way to save their son and it was to send him away. She was devastated at first, but beside her husband, she knew they were doing the right thing.

"He will look like them, he will need that advantage to survive" Jor-El replied, trying to remain strong in front of his wife.

"But he will not be one of them"

"No, but from the readings of the Turians, this Earth will sustain Kal-El, and I believe their yellow sun will make him different."

"How?" asked Lara.

"Our physiology here makes us rely on Rao for sustenance because of the low amount of energy it gives off to plant and animal life. On Earth he will be getting an abundant amount of solar energy and I believe it will make him…strong, fast, virtually invulnerable-"

"And alone" Lara interrupted.

"No…no, he will never be alone". In the last moments, Jor-El and Lara hugged their tiny son one last time. With tears in their eyes, they placed Kal-El inside the ship, designed to protect and sustain him on his journey. Jor-El and Lara embraced each other as the hybrid ship closed itself and began powering up. Inside the cradle of the ship, Jor-El's voice spoke to the scared infant.

"_Go forth my son, travel safely among the stars and find a good home on Earth. With you I have sent all the knowledge of Krypton in hopes you will never forget your special heritage. Know that we will always be with you, my son."_

The ship rose off the ground, automatically plotting a course using its known navigation systems. With the route charted, the ship's engines ignited and disappeared into the sky.

Jor-El and Lara looked into each other's eyes as the entire ground started to shake with more intensity. Their eyes swelled with tears as the hugged once more with smiles on their faces. In the very next instant, Krypton collapsed in on itself and detonated into cosmic dust, leaving only empty space where it used to be.

* * *

Baby Kal-El lay in the ship, unaware of the fate that just befell his entire race. The ship flew into the unknown of space along the course his father had plotted.

After rocketing out of Krypton's system it came to the system adjacent and made way directly towards what that Asari called a Mass Relay. Jor-El had figured it was a type of propulsion enhancer, making flights between stars exponentially faster. The tiny ship made the necessary calculations and headed into the Mass Relay.

Bathed in blue energy, the ship accelerated in a blur for several minutes until abruptly slowing down in a new system. Immediately after decelerating, hundreds of much larger ships came into view of the ships sensors, no doubt the human's war vessels readying for deployment. The tiny ship's systems began automated evasive actions, swooping and diving between the ships.

Thanks to the crystals that lined the outer portions of the ship, the vessel was able to remain completely undetected by any radar system. Kal-El's ship moved beyond the warships and made a direct approach to the third planet from the yellow sun, Earth.

The ship entered Earth's orbit and began necessary measures for Kal-El's protection. While the ship cut through the atmosphere of the planet, it began to scan for the safest populated locations to land. After several hundred possible locations were found, the ship's central system deemed a continent on the western hemisphere suitable. The smooth crystalline ship now soared above the clouds of the continent and pinpointed a location to land. Initial scans labeled the location as a part of Kansas in the United States.

Lowering to the ground faster and faster, the ship was soon travelling over cornfields and prepped for landing. The crash may have seemed rough, but inside baby Kal-El felt nothing as the ship collided with the ground. Cooling systems engaged, lowering the temperature of the ship on the outside after entering orbit. A quick scan of the area picked up two humans, one male and one female were in the vicinity and already heading towards the ship. As the couple got closer, the ship's systems opened the canopy, revealing baby Kal-El to the Earth.


	2. Chapter 1

Fifteen years later-2172CE

"Ok we'll take John"

"We get Pete then, leaving you with Clark!" laughed the boy.

"No way, you can get Clark!" yelled back the other team leader.

"Guys, don't worry about it, I didn't want to play anyway" said the remaining boy in the lineup.

"Good, first team to the baseball field hits first!" said one of the teenagers as the rest of the group took off running the field.

Clark watched them run off, sighed and began walking in the other direction. He slid up his grandfather's glasses on his face and put his hands in his pockets. It was a nice summer day without a cloud in the sky. Clark walked over to the bike rack, unchained his bicycle and started peddling down the long road.

He had lived in Smallville his whole life and loved it. The rest of the world was being introduced to the ways of the galaxy, meeting aliens and learning a new way of life, but Smallville remained the same. New farming methods and more advanced technologies were brought to the farm town, but all in all, the realization that humans were not alone in the galaxy did not change Smallville.

Clark rode along the side of the road, admiring the houses and cornfields on his way home. He remembered being captivated as a child with the idea of real aliens existing. But as time went on, this idea began to intrigue Clark more and more.

At an early age, his parents had told him it would not be a good idea to play sports with other children after his father and him had played baseball for the first time. Clark just remembers his father looking for the baseball for hours in their neighbor's cornfield after he had done just as his father told him; hit the ball as hard as he could.

Clark realized a few years ago that he had never once been to the doctor, after many of his classmates talked of regular visits to the doctor. He asked his mother and she always said it was because he was perfectly healthy.

While Clark was thinking about the strange occurrences in his life, he noticed the corn stalks he was riding beside were turning into a green blur and so stopped pedaling to slow down. Going a normal speed again, Clark's thoughts drifted to seeing the rest of the galaxy and if he'll ever meet a real life alien one day. He smiled at the thought and then veered from the road into his family farm's road, which had a small sign out front of it reading: Kent Farm.

He rode up the dirt road towards the large red barn next to the house. Stopping the bike next to it and hopping off, he took off his glasses to clean the dirt off. Clark knew he didn't need them to see, but a few years ago he had been going through a trunk from his late grandfather and found them. He liked the way he looked in them and started wearing them around the house. His parents smiled at the idea and let him continue to wear them, saying he looked handsome in them.

"Dad?" Clark yelled out, putting the glasses back on.

"In the barn, son!" called back the stern voice. Clark followed the voice into the large red barn. He began looking around and heard his father's grunts from across the barn. "Give me and hand over here!" Clark came to where his father was and realized his dad was underneath the semi-new tractor they bought a while back.

"Is the tractor broke again?" asked Clark, kneeling next to where his father's legs were showing from underneath the dirty tractor.

"Yeah, eezo assisted tractor of the future they said, yeah right" the man scooted himself from under the tractor. Clark offered his hand and helped his father to his feet.

"Anything I can do to help?" asked Clark. His father looked at him wiping his hands with a cloth.

"Actually yes, you should get down there and fix it, instead of your old man doing it" he laughed, putting a hand on his son's shoulder. "I've been working on it all day; see if you have the magic touch. I'll see if I can get it started."

Clark smiled, unbuttoning his shirt revealing a white undershirt as he slid under the tractor. He started to tighten some of the bolts under the tractor and adjust other fuel lines. His father had hopped into the seat of the tractor, shifting the vehicle slightly on top of the stands.

"Okay, give it a try now" shouted Clark from the floor. Jonathon shifted the gear, putting some muscle behind it as the engine roared to life.

"There we go! Good work, son" Jonathan said as he sat upright putting his hands on his knees. The motion was just enough to shift the tractor off its stands and fall half a foot to the ground. The sudden impact caused the engine to make weird noises and stall out.

"Clark!" exclaimed Jonathan leaping off the seat to examine the bottom of the tractor. The fall had bent the Kevlar tires outwards, causing the bottom of the tractor to lie on the barn floor. "Clark!" yelled Jonathan again, trying to lift the massive piece of machinery up himself. He started to quickly look around the barn for anything he could use to jack up the tractor.

Jonathan was rummaging through steel rods when he heard the tractor shift. He stopped what he was doing and looked at the farm machine. To his surprise, the tractor started to rise slightly off the ground on the side where Jonathan couldn't see. The farmer slowly walked around the tractor and watched wide-eyed as he saw his son crawl from underneath the tractor while holding the tractor up with one hand.

"Son…Clark are you okay?" slowly said the shocked father. Clark was on his knees and carefully got up, with Jonathan helping him to stand.

"I think so," Clark said as he rubbed a bruise on the side of his head, "what happened?"

"The tractor fell…" Jonathan said choosing his words carefully. Clark looked at the bent out wheels of the tractor, realizing he should have been crushed by the one ton piece of machinery.

"Dad, how did I-?" Clark stopped himself halfway looking to his father. Jonathan looked back to his son with a face of despair.

"Son, I think we need to talk" the farmer said as the put a hand behind his head and slowly walked out of the barn.

* * *

Later Clark sat in the living room with his mother and father both standing in front of him. The bruise on Clark's head had disappeared, healing by the time him and his father had got the house. Jonathan put an arm around his wife, Martha, and looked sympathetically at his son.

"Clark, when you were younger, we told you that we had adopted you. The truth is that is not entirely accurate" started his father.

"We were coming back from picking up supplies in town, taking a detour home to drop off some tools we had borrowed" Martha said looking at her son. "There were no signs or warning when it happened, but out of nowhere something crashed in the abandoned field next to us." Clark was sitting upright in the couch, with eyes intent on listening to every word.

"We got out and looked for what it might have been and were amazed to hear something crying. As we got closer, we saw…something, and it opened up and we saw you laying there, crying."

Clark's eyebrows raised and a smile stretched across his face, "So, what, I'm an alien?" Jonathan was looking down at the floor and slowly panned up to his son's eyes, saying nothing. Clark saw that his parents were sincere and his smile faded. He looked down and started to breathe heavier.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"We didn't really know how to tell you, we're sorry Clark" explained his mother.

"I need to show you Clark" slowly said his father to his shocked son. Clark looked to his dad with curious eyes.

Martha stayed in the house, feeling this was between Jonathan and Clark. Jonathan led Clark far out into the back cornfield. Clark had been out in the backfield hundreds of times and had no idea where his father was leading him. Far from the house and barn, Jonathan stopped and stared at the ground.

"Bet you didn't know that your great-great grandfather was involved with Prohibition did you?" Jonathan said without taking his eyes off the ground. He continued, "He built a secret cellar way out here to hide his stash from neighbors and authorities. It was cleared out years ago and forgotten…help me find the door."

Jonathan and Clark sifted through the dirt, digging some with their hands until Jonathan found the handle. The handle had an old pad lock, but years of rust, dirt and decay had left it impossible to put the key in.

"Hey Clark, do you mind?" gestured Jonathan, giving up on the lock. His son was curious as to what was down in the makeshift cellar and so walked over and grasped the handle. In one swift motion he lifted up and tore the pad lock off its hinge, opening the wooden door.

Jonathan reached for the pen like flashlight on his belt and shined it into the darkness of the hole. He climbed down the ladder that stuck out and gestured his son to follow. Clark also had a flashlight and had reached the bottom of the damp cellar and began to look around. The cellar had empty shelves and cob webs everywhere. It was clear no one had been down there in years. Jonathan walked through two rows of empty shelves to the back of the cellar. He shined his light on a large blanketed object.

"This is it" stated Jonathan, "this is what brought you to us. Ready son?" Clark stared at the covered object with thoughts racing through his head. Clark grabbed the tarp covering the object, but before he could pull it off his father put a hand on his shoulder.

"Son, no matter what happens, your mother and I are your parents and you were raised by us" smiled the proud father to his son. Clark smiled and nodded back as both his father and him grabbed the tarp and lifted it off the object. Clark stared at the pod in front of them. It had smooth metallic edges that formed an almost cone around a crystalline center.

"I didn't know what to do with it when we found you, it's lighter than it looks and so I loaded it into the truck and brought it here." He saw his son walking around the ship, "The canopy closed as soon as you were taken out of it and it has just been here ever since."

"This can't be real" Clark uttered to himself under his breathe.

"I wish I had the answers son, but I don't" nodded Jonathan, looking at Clark. Clark had walked all the way around the ship, stopping when something caught his attention.

"There's something here" Clark said as he pointed to a part of the ship. Jonathan walked over to where his son was and noticed the small square imprint on the side of the ship.

"That wasn't there before" whispered Jonathan.

Clark was hesitant, but began to reach out to the imprint, which was no bigger than his palm. He looked to his father, who stood next to him and nodded in support. As Clark's hand got closer to the imprint, he started to hear a slight hum. His heart was racing now and his hand was inches from the smooth metal. Taking one last deep breathe, Clark touched the imprint with his hand, causing the hum to become louder.

Lights ignited down the edges of the cone shaped metal of the ship as it started to rise off the ground. The ship was now two feet off the ground as the canopy opened with more lights inside. The ship just hovered with the hum intensifying as Jonathan put a hard hand on Clark's shoulder.

"Amazing to think you were once that small" he smiled to his son as they watched the bright lights dance across the old cellar. Clark didn't take his eyes off the ship, when after a few seconds the humming stopped.

"_My son"_ the voice seemed to come from the ship, but both Clark and Jonathan could hear it all around them and in their heads. The lights inside the canopy flickered when the voice spoke.

"_My son, I am Jor-El, your father. If you are hearing this, I and the rest of our people are long dead. You are Kal-El, the last son of Krypton. You were sent away to so that you would be spared of our fate. I have sent you to Earth, home to a primitive yet endearing race. I hope you have found a good home there."_ There was a pause in the computers voice, _"No doubt you have realized on Earth you will be different, my hope is that together we will learn and harness your talents for a greater good. When you are ready my son, place your hand on the indentation once more, and we will discover your destiny."_

The voice then faded as the ship once more closed its canopy and started to lower to the ground. The lights faded as the ship returned to its cold, dark state in the middle of the cellar. Clark and Jonathan looked at each other and then slowly walked out of the cellar, back to the house.

* * *

Weeks past, Martha and Jonathan tried to let life continue as it was, but they knew everything was different now. Clark was quiet for days. He tried to go to school and spend time with friends, but the thought of his true father's voice was always with him.

A month had passed; the Kents were getting ready for dinner when Clark came from the barn, after spending time in there all day. Before dinner was served he made the announcement that he was going back to Jor-El, to understand who he is and why he was sent away. His parents understood and had what could be their last family meal together. That night he said his goodbyes, as his parents told him they will always love him.

Clark walked out of the barn in the dead of night. He slowly made his way to his great-great grandfather's old cellar, opening it and climbing down. He set the tiny flashlight on a shelf overlooking the ship. Clark stopped and stared at the ship. He knew this was it. He didn't know what would happen, but he did know that he had to find out. Realizing it was now or never, Clark placed his hand on the imprint.

This time the ship did not open, instead the crystal part of the ship started to glow white as the metallic sides were absorbed into the shining crystal. The light was so intense, Clark had to shield his eyes and squint into the light. The light began to shrink and fade as Clark gazed through the darkness.

The ship had molded and shifted itself into a small, hexagonal crystal rod with pointed ends. The crystal was about just over six inches long and was left hovering where the ship used to be. Clark reached for the crystal and realized that it was much heavier than the tiny crystal appeared. Clark assumed that the crystal was very dense, weighing as much as the ship did. As he held it, Jor-El's voice started inside Clark's head.

"_Kal-El, there is much to learn and discover. In time we will unravel all there is to know about how Earth will shape your destiny" _

Clark's eyes widened as the crystal started to glowed brightly again, engulfing the cellar in light. Then the light vanished, leaving only an empty cellar.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"_Learn from them Kal-El, learn where your special talents can be used." _

These were the words that echoed from the crystal after it had teleported Clark across the world. When the bright light had faded, he had found himself in what he later figured out was Africa, near a small village. He looked around, not knowing what he was supposed to do. He looked down to the silent crystal and began to think. He realized this was a chance to learn and discover parts of the world he had never seen before. Clark was always curious about the world and so introduced himself to the village. He quickly picked up the language and was very soon embraced by the village people. He gladly rolled up his sleeves to help the downtrodden village and as a natural farmer; Clark helped the village grow crops for the first months.

In order to always stay close to Clark and never be taken away, within the first few days of his reappearance the crystal formed around Clark's right arm. It projected Jor-El's will, to be heard only by Clark and guide him on his journey. Most did not question the device, believing it was a different model Omni-tool.

Clark did not stay long in the village, wanting to see the whole world and discover all that he could. He left and travelled however he could, be it bus, boat, or even walking. He soon discovered that he didn't ever need a lot of sleep, most nights he would feel fine with only two or three hours of rest. He ate when he felt like it, but realized he could go for days without any food.

For eight years this was the life for Clark; traveling the world, observing and helping those he could. Days consisted of helping the locals where he was and nights consisted of learning of Krypton. Over the eight years, Jor-El taught Clark the entire history of Krypton. The knowledge was passed directly to Clark via the crystal, so large amounts of information could be passed at once. Sometimes the information was overwhelming for Clark's young mind, but over time, he wanted to know more about where he came from.

Whenever Clark found himself alone in the desert, mountains, or beaches he would push himself further and further; discovering his inhuman abilities. Jor-El told him the science behind the yellow sun's radiation and the effects it would have on a Kryptonian's body. Everyday Clark seemed to get stronger and faster. When his journey first began, he did not know the full extent to what he was capable of. As time went on, he gained more abilities, some that initially scared Clark.

One day when traveling on camel back through the Sahara desert, his eyes became irritated. No matter how much he rubbed them, the burning sensation would not go away. When he could no long take the irritation, he could feel the iris of his eyes ignite as they blasted out waves of intense heat. Luckily all that was around him was sand and so all the heat beams did was turn the sand to glass. Clark camped out in the desert for weeks alone, to train himself to control his new 'heat vision'.

At one point, Clark came across aliens that had immigrated to Earth. They were among the first of their kind to visit the human home world. Clark had found them arguing with owners of a lodging rental office in India. He had already been travelling through the area for a few weeks and was visiting the area to find a temporary home for himself. He had come to realize that not all of Earth had embraced the newly revealed galaxy and its inhabitants. The rental office did not want aliens in their establishment. Clark felt a certain connection to the group of three aliens, who seemed to all where environmental suits.

The aliens, who said they were Quarians on a journey they called a Pilgrimage, moved to the back of the office at the request of the owners. Clark slowly moved to the front desk, nervously looking back and forth to the aliens and the owners. He paid the owners for a two bedroom lodge for the next three months. They gave him a key and directions to the small lodging. On his way out the door, he whispered to the aliens to follow him. Clark told them that he felt sorry for them and could empathize and so gave them his lodging key. They were grateful and wanted to pay him back, but Clark responded that meeting a real life alien was all the payment he needed as he continued his own travels.

Time went on, occasionally Clark found himself having to stop mercenaries from harming innocents in different countries. He always did so discreetly, by using his ever increasing speed to remain unseen. When dealing with mercenaries, Clark came to realize how tough his skin was; able to repel fire, bullets, and even missiles.

Throughout the years, Clark had to find work to keep himself occupied and earn money to travel. He started writing for small time travel companies, often recording what he saw and experienced. He began to carry a datapad with him that the agency had given him. Readers loved reading his attention to detail and curiosity when acquiring the facts.

After the eight long years, Clark was sitting in the lobby of the World News network in Tokyo, Japan. He had scrounged together decent looking clothing and collected his sample writings from over the years. He nervously adjusted his old glasses when his pocket started to vibrate. Clark reached in a pulled out a small datapad as a message appeared on it from his mother.

He had remained in contact with his parents over the eight years, telling them where he was and what he was doing. They always worried about him, but he assured them he was fine. They always tried to stay in contact with him via his personal datapad, but this was different.

The message was from his mother, saying there was something wrong with his father and that he was being taken to the hospital in Topeka. Clark's eyes went wide as he leapt out of his chair. He dropped his suitcase with his writings in it and ran for the closest emergency exit. In the stairwell, he took off his glasses and put them in his pocket as he loosened his tie and took a deep breathe.

The air around Clark shifted and blurred as he started to run down the stair well with accelerated speed. He had run fast before, clocking his top speed at just under the speed of sound. Now he put that to the test as the world around him stopped as he streaked through the lobby and out the door. Knowing exactly where he needed to go, Clark strained his muscles as hard as he could as he saw the world fold around him as he bolted through the lit up city. He quickly reached the beach that connected with the Pacific Ocean and without hesitation; Clark extended a foot out onto the water surface. He was moving so fast that he was able to run on top of the water as his supersonic wake jetted water into the air.

Clark started to breathe heavier as he pushed himself to go faster and faster, fearing the worst for his father. Within seconds he was zigzagging through the cities of California and then Colorado. He started to slow down, fearing that he wouldn't be able to stop in time as he got closer to Kansas. Now in the outskirts of Smallville, he veered towards Topeka, where his mother said his father was being taken to.

A block away from the hospital, Clark had slowed down to a jog and ran into the main lobby of the hospital. Out of breath he asked the receptionist where Jonathan Kent was. All he needed to hear was 'Room 265' before started to head for the stairs. Taking two or three at a time he finally made it to the floor and spotted his mother talking with a doctor.

As Clark walked closer and closer to where his mother stood, he could already see the tears in her eyes. Everything started to slow down around him once more, this time not because of his enhanced speed, but due to the dread in his heart.

"Clark!" Martha exclaimed, surprised but relieved to see her son. She wrapped her arms around Clark, who was taller since they last met.

"Mom, where's Dad?" Clark whispered in his mother's ear as she still held onto him.

"He had a heart attack, Clark. He was having problems lately, but was too proud to get help. He's awake now and but fading quick…they don't think he is going to make it" sobbed Martha as she slowly separated from her son.

Clark turned and looked at the room his mother had gestured at and slowly started to walk in. His mother stayed in the doorway and watched her son, having already said what she needed to say to her husband. Clark approached the bed his father was on and saw him resting. He sat in a chair that was set up and looked around at the holographic computers showing his father's heart rates and saw how they were getting slower.

"Dad?" Clark said putting his hand on his father's shoulder. Feeling his son's hand, Jonathan struggled to get his eyes open and look at Clark.

"Clark" Jonathan whispered. His voice was weak and he fought for every breath he took. "I'm so proud of you, son. Don't ever…forget…who you are" he said as he brought his hand up to Clark's.

"I won't Dad" Clark said as he fought back the tears in his eyes with a forced smile. He saw his father look behind him at Martha, who had walked in and stood beside Clark.

"I love…you both…so..." Jonathan's voice faded as the monitors around him showed that he had flat lined. A doctor walked in the room to reset the monitors and place a sheet over top Jonathan's body.

"I am so sorry; the heart failure was too severe that there was nothing that we could have done." Martha broke down as Clark let a single tear fall down his face as he held his grieving mother.

Days later, Clark and Martha stood on one of the hills on their farm. It was where Jonathan's family had been buried for generations. A small gathering of friends had come to grieve for the friendly farmer. The service ended and all that was left standing over the grave was Clark and his mother.

"I should have been here" Clark said with no emotion in his voice as he looked at the tombstone. His mother gently grabbed his arm and turned Clark so that he was facing her.

"There was nothing you or anyone else could have done. Nothing" Clark did not make eye contact with his mother. "Clark Kent, the heart can only beat so many times and you know your father used his more than most people."

Clark finally looked into his mother's eyes, "All these things I can do, all these _powers_…and I could do nothing to save him."

His mother paused and brushed her hand on his cheek, "Honor him, by using your heart and gifts to save others". Clark smiled and hugged his mother once more as a gently breeze swept over them just as the sun began to set.

* * *

Weeks past, life went on. Clark had stayed on the farm to help his mother. They each mourned in their own way; Clark kept to chores, keeping his mind on work. His father always said, _"Work keeps a man honest"_. The words resonated within him, as he walked around his family farm.

Jor-El comforted his son, expressing his sympathy for the loss of his adopted father, as well as a synthetic voice could. Jor-El's will continued Clark's training, pushing him farther each day.

One day Clark sat in the barn, working on a daily crossword on his datapad. His mother had come into the barn to visit him with lunch and walked up behind her son. She subtly noticed that Clark was not working on the crossword, but instead doodling a large "S" in a strange pentagon.

"What is that?" Martha asked with a curious smile. Clark had heard her coming, but was lost in thought. He looked up at her as he stopped doodling.

"It's uh…well it's the House of El's family symbol. Just something I always see in my head when training with Jor-El. I've seen images in my head of people on Krypton wearing their symbols on their chests." Martha smiled as she gave Clark the meal she had made for him. She put her hand on his shoulder, reminding Clark of when his father would do the same.

Soon, Clark decided to get back into his writing, sending samples of his writing to different medias. A week later, Clark was getting ready to head to an Alliance shipyard for the debut of a new prototype exploration vessel. He figured that a lot of high end journalists would be there and so thought it would be a good place to introduce himself.

"Hey Mom, could I…" Clark looked to the ground and then back to his mother, "borrow one of Dad's suits?" His mother stood in front of him with a proud smile.

"Of course, but I have a gift for you" Martha walked to the kitchen table where a box on it. "Last week, after seeing you sketch Jor-El's family….your family symbol, I touched your crystal and saw some of the Kryptonian designs you had talked about. Anyway…" she lifted and gave the box to Clark. Clark opened the box, first seeing bright red cloth. He lifted it up, revealing the symbol he had grown so accustomed to in bright red with a yellow background.

"Mom, this…" his mother stopped him.

"Clark, your father and I knew you were always bound for great things. The world will look to your symbol for hope and see the man your father and I raised." She smiled at him, hugging her son. Clark looked once more at the "S" as he hugged his mother.

* * *

Clark had never seen so many people in one area, thousands gathered on a cliff that overlooked the Alliance shipyard to see the maiden voyage of the SSV Manaslu. Camerabots floated all over, hovering around covering reporters.

He shifted his glasses up as he tried to get a good vantage point of the ship. He had gone around and introduced himself to a few of the networks. A voice had echoed throughout the area where the reporters were, stating the vessel would take off in approximately five minutes.

Clark found a wall to lean on and saw a woman reporter standing beside him. Just being friendly he cleared his throat.

"Exciting isn't it?" he said with an innocent smile.

"I guess" replied the woman, never once looking at Clark. He nodded to himself and returned to the wall.

A countdown had started over the loud speakers and seconds later everything went mute as the only thing that could be heard was the roar of the massive ship's engines. The shipyard sat near a shallow bay that shook as the enormous ship started to rise off the ground. When the ship was hundreds of feet off the ground, halfway over the shipyard and the bay, the crowd began to cheer.

Clark smiled as he watched the ship rise up into the sky. When a shift in the air occurred, noticeable only by Clark's enhanced hearing, his smile started to fade. The Manaslu had risen to nearly two miles off the ground when the shift in the engine's propulsion could be heard by the rest of the crowd. The reporters began to convey the trouble the ship was experiencing. A loud explosion erupted from the backside of the ship sending fiery debris through the air.

The crowd began to panic and scream seeing the colossal Everest class vehicle begin to fall to the ground. Clark never took his eyes off the ship. He made his way through the panicking crowd, gently pushing through. He took a deep breath and knew it was time. Clark quickly looked around and saw a drop-off, the cliff that lead to the bay far below. The crowd was too busy to notice as Clark ran for the edge and leapt off.

All of his training had led to this one single moment. Jor-El had always said that the yellow sun of Earth would grant him unique abilities. Most he already had mastered, but Jor-El said the ability to defy the Earth's gravity will only happen when he was ready. Overtime he had conquered his insecurities and fears; readying for this single moment.

The wind whipped past Clark's face as he looked defiantly at the incoming ground. He confidently removed his glasses and put them in the crystal wrist device under his right coat sleeve. Clark ripped off his over shirt revealing his family crest on top of a red and blue suit and letting loose a red flowing cape.

Camerabots that had stayed behind, some with their reporters captured blurred images of a red and blue streak rocketing towards the falling vehicle. People, who hadn't run away, began speculating what the blur was, stating it was just a bird or possibly another ship. The crowd stopped running and fell silent as they noticed the falling ship had begun to slow down.

The camerabots attempted to zoom in as best they could to capture more images of the mysterious blur, only to see a brightly dressed man on the underside of the vessel. The people watched in disbelief as the Manaslu started to once again rise into the air.

Within seconds, the Manaslu was merely a small dot in the sky. Debris still fell from the sky, burning and leaving trails behind them. With the Manaslu no longer visible, the crowd started to panic and run again watching a large hunk of metal streak towards them. The piece of the ship got closer to the ground, ready to smash into the cliff side and killing everyone on it. A slight pop could be heard as the red and blue streak broke the sound barrier to reach the burning debris.

Scared reporters and civilians looked up to see in full view a man with dark hair and blue eyes dressed in red and blue holding the large metal piece over his head. The crowd stared in awe, watching the man toss the broken wreckage over the cliff and into the bay below. He broke the silence with his bold and gallant voice.

"Is everyone okay?"


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"It was incredible, the ship was falling out of the sky when he just whooshed in and caught it and then lifted it up into space!"

"He came over to us after he caught some wreckage and asked us if we were okay"

"So sexy"

"Had a giant S on his chest"

"These were just some of the hundreds of eye witness accounts of the man who has been dubbed 'The Superman of Earth'. After his miraculous rescue of the SSV Manaslu, he made sure that everyone who was watching that day was safe, even sticking around to answer a few of the thousands of questions that were being thrown at him. The most important of these was 'Who are you?' to which he simply replied, 'A friend'. He then took off into the sky and later this station had reports of him appearing all over the world."

"The reports indicated that he was averting natural disasters, stopping petty crimes, and even saving stray animals from trees. No doubt this Superman is here to stay. This is Cat Grant signing off for the Alliance News Network."

For the first few months, the news stories focused on nothing but the stranger they labeled as the Superman. No crime was too small for him to assist with, be it simple burglaries and theft to murder. The world had fully embraced Superman, even when he admitted that he was not born on Earth, but in fact was an alien from an extinct species. This just made Earth love him more, declaring him the Champion of Earth.

His presence on Earth even inspired other aliens to come to Earth in large numbers, all hoping for better ways of life. Everyone was inspired by the fact that Superman had such amazing abilities, but fought for good. He became a role model; somebody everyone tried to emulate.

Superman was happy that he had found a way to use his gifts to better his adopted world, but still felt lonely. When he wasn't on patrol helping people, he changed back to what he was before; mild mannered Clark Kent.

Changing his identity allowed him to live a normal life when he needed to relax. Despite what the world thought, he did need to sleep, even if it was for a couple hours a night. He made a life for himself, continuing to write stories about his travels that brought him all over the world.

And even though he visited his mother regularly, he still couldn't help but feel alone in the galaxy. A year after revealing himself to the world, he took the crystal that housed Jor-El's will and essence into the upper atmosphere. His cape twisted and turned in the weightless environment, as he held the glowing device.

He wanted to create a place where he could be alone if he wanted to and collect his thoughts, but still be able to watch over Earth. Jor-El said that he would create a place that was reminiscent of Krypton.

Superman looked into space and hurled the crystal away from Earth. It soared through the emptiness of space, passed the moon and went beyond the red planet Mars. The Kryptonian device travelled until it reached the great asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Superman slowly moved forward, basking in the rays of the yellow sun, watching the device strike one of the asteroids. The asteroid flashed an intense white glow as large crystalline spikes started to grow out of it. The small structure grew and grew into an enormous "morning star" shape with a large crystal round center with hundreds of pillars stretching out from it. Superman was flying towards the still growing structure with wide eyes.

The gigantic formation had begun to attract thousands of wayward asteroids towards it. The large space stones gravitated around the structure, partly concealing if from view. Superman weaved between the rocks and finally reached the white crystalline mega-structure. He made his way to what looked like the entrance; a large translucent doorway with his family's symbol imprinted on it. Superman had set foot on the smooth floor in front of the doorway and as he approached it, sensors chimed, "Welcome Kal-El".

The large door became completely transparent, letting Superman walk right through the door before it returned to its solid state. The inside was huge, with several chambers offset from a large central one. Superman looked all around, amazed by everything he saw, and slowly approached what seemed to be a main console.

As he got closer to the console, he heard his biological father's voice throughout the chamber, "Welcome, my son. This fortress of…solitude contains all the knowledge of Krypton. I ask one thing of you Kal-El; never forget where you came from and the lessons you have learned on Earth. They have made you the man you are today, a man a father can be proud of."

* * *

Two years pass and in 2183 conflict erupted in the stars. Reports stated that the synthetic race known as the Geth had attacked a human colony and then stormed the Citadel. As soon the word came in, Earth was already rejoicing in the fact that the attack had been thwarted by the first human Spectre, Commander Shepard. Peace had fallen on the galaxy, if only for a short while. Months after the attack on the Citadel, Shepard was ambushed by unknown assailants and deemed "KIA". A huge memorial service was set up on Earth to honor the fallen hero.

Every known name in the Alliance and beyond showed up to pay their respects to the Hero of the Citadel. Everybody had their chance to say words in remembrance of Shepard, including close friends and former squad mates. His old captain, Anderson, said a heartfelt speech about Shepard, telling the bravery the fallen warrior had on and off the battlefield.

Superman was invited to the service to say something on behalf of Shepard; he came, but refused to speak. He thought it would have been disrespectful to speak as though he had known Shepard, even though he did not. He tried not to attract any attention to himself, not wanting to take away from Shepard. Superman had asked several reporters to respect Shepard and not ask for any interviews, for this day was not about him, but a service to Shepard. For a while people left Superman alone, but one reporter butted her way through the crowd in order to reach the costumed hero.

The reporter had a camerabot hovering above her as she shoved people out of her way. "Superman? Superman!" she called out as she got closer to where he was standing. "Can I get an interview?"

Superman was trying to be as somber as he could, "Ma'am," he started.

"Call me al-Jilani" the reporter stated.

"Ms. Jilani, I am here to pay my respects to Shepard, nothing more."

"Right, right but when am I going to get another chance to be this close to the Superman?" The reporter motioned to her camerabot to begin recording. "This is Khalish al-Jilani live at Shepard's memorial service with the Superman of Earth. Mr. Superman, do you think now that there is a void for the 'hero in the stars' you will step up and take Shepard's place?" questioned the reporter.

Superman arched his brow, not sure how to even answer something so distasteful. He opened his mouth, about to answer when someone shoved her way into the camera view, between Superman and al-Jilani.

"Look Jilani, he is here to show _RESPECT_ for a fallen hero, not to be bothered by the likes of you. Now I suggest you leave or we may have to continue the little chat we had last time" blurted out the fair skinned woman.

Jilani turned red and gave a half-hearted smirk before turning around and disappearing into the crowd with her camera bot following.

Superman blinked, watching Jilani leave and the looked at the woman in front of him, "Thank you, Miss?"

"Lane, Lois Lane," the woman quickly replied, "sorry about her, don't let her make you think all reporters are like that."

"I'll keep that in mind, Ms. Lane" Superman said as he smiled down at the young woman.

* * *

Days later Superman had time to think to himself. There was no denying that the conflicts in the stars were growing more and more out of control. He always wondered what it would be like to see the rest of the galaxy and its inhabitants. Back in his regular identity, as Clark Kent, he visited his mother asking for advice. She said that no matter where he goes, he will always be her son and proud of what he has done. Back as Superman, he called a press conference with the intention of informing every one of his plans.

"My home will always be Earth, the place that raised and accepted me. But I can no longer ignore the strife among the stars. Humanity grows every day and it has always been my vow to protect life, in any form. I feel it is time that I joined the galactic community to help them in the same way I have here on Earth. My adopted parents here taught me to share my gifts for the benefit of good and that is what I intend to do. Thank you all for your time."

Reporters shouted out questions as fast as they could as Superman rose off the ground and took off into the sky. Before continuing his new quest, he made a stop at his Fortress of Solitude.

"If this is your decision, I support you Kal-El. But know this; the knowledge of this fortress is limited, what you will face beyond the relay is unknown" warned Jor-El's voice.

"I know, father"

"Very well, I can help however." Then on the far side of the chamber a panel slid open, revealing a bright colored suit. It was similar to the one he was wearing, but without the long red cape. It had red along the shoulders, forming around the large 'S' on the chest. The hands were blue, as well as the insides of the thighs running to the knees and ending at the calf with red boots. Clark looked it over as he approached the new suit, noticing an omni-tool like device on the right forearm.

"This suit is designed to absorb and store yellow solar energy, so that wherever you go in the galaxy, you will retain your abilities. The device on the arm will monitor the solar levels and keep you connected to the Fortress."

"Thank you Jor-El" smiled Clark.

"Go forth my son."

Clark had put on the new suit solar suit, thinking it almost felt like a second skin. He read the crystal screen on his arm showing full solar power reserves.

The Last Son of Krypton then walked over to the main console and moved some of the crystals around, causing a holo-picture of Earth to appear in front of him. He gently pushed a holo-button to start what could be his last recording before leaving for the Charon Mass Relay.

"I_ can't help but think back on my life now. I record this message inside the Fortress, because frankly, I don't know what I will find beyond Earth's Relay. I have served Earth faithfully and like I said, it will always be my home, but I firmly believe it is time for me to take to the stars and join the galaxy. There is so much life and conflict beyond Earth, and I know my father at first had forbidden me, but it is what I feel I must do."_

_I am Kal-El of Krypton, Clark Kent to those closest to me, and I stand on the precipice of great change in the galaxy, hopefully for the better._

Superman then closed the recording and rocketed out of the fortress with a new found vigor. He squinted as he flew into the blue pulsating relay, ready to take on the challenges and mysteries of the galaxy.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Doctor, we will now hear your proposal."

The salarian was already walking into the dimly lit room to the only chair. He sat down and laid out numerous datapads and folders on the table in front of him. The salarian looked up to the committee, who consisted of seven other salarians who were all lined up behind a large desk looking down at him.

The salarian cleared his throat and began, "Thank you, as many of you know the first human Spectre, Commander Shepard, revealed before his untimely death a technological threat beyond measure. He told the council that these machines were beyond anything anybody has ever encountered." The salarian stopped to gauge the reactions of the committee before him; some slightly nodded their heads while others simply sat in silence. Taking a small breath the salarian continued.

"The council played it off to the public, claiming the situation had been dealt with when the geth were stopped at the Citadel. Shepard was not convinced and this organization knows that from the wreckage we personally recovered from the warship Sovereign; the geth could not have created it. Shepard called them Reapers, an ancient race of machines hell-bent on the destruction of all organic life and they are coming."

"Doctor Hamiltin, this is all speculation at this point" uttered one of the salarians behind the large desk.

"True or not, this committee needs to be ready for such an attack and I have a proposal to help combat this new enemy. Shepard stated in his reports that these Reapers are each sentient AI systems. My goal is to create an equally deadly system to counteract them."

A female salarian at the end of the desk blurted out, "This STG committee will not condone any artificial intelligence testing what so ever, Doctor!"

Hamiltin didn't bat and eye to the interruption and calmly replied, "Good, because the Brain Incept Auxiliary Construct will not be an AI, but instead a very sophisticated, precise virtual intelligence. One built solely to gather and take in information on a designated target."

"My system will be able to integrate with other systems and cipher through tremendous amounts of data. Once the information is gathered from a multitude of sources, the system will find any and all weaknesses and flaws in said target. With all this data it will compile thousands of strategies, all able to take out the target. And being able to integrate with other systems, we will be able to plug it into our warfare networks to coordinate units."

"It will be the first VI of its kind, imprinted with brain patterns of renowned strategists, mathematicians, scientists and generals. I am confident that this system will revolutionize warfare as we know it and certainly be able to fend off an ancient machine army." The salarian doctor then sat down with a calming sigh and let the committee talk amongst themselves.

"Doctor, in the event these Reapers are indeed real, we will need to be ready. We approve your project but on three conditions; 1- If the Reaper threat proves to be false, then your system will be turned over to the STG for use by us and our allies. 2- You understand that if your endeavors are discovered, your project was never funded by the STG and we will deny all association with you."

Doctor Hamiltin nodded as he listened carefully to the committee leader.

"And 3- the proper security measures must be in place at all times. We don't need to tell you what could happen if such a system were to be stolen or hijacked. Are these conditions understood?"

The doctor could barely contain his excitement after hearing the committees ruling. He had waited years for a threat to arise that would warrant him proposing his radical warfare system. Of course he did not want people to get hurt, which was one of the reasons he originally designed the radical virtual intelligence. He had been sitting on the design for several years, but never revealed it, wanting to ensure it would only be used against a measurable threat. That day had come when he heard of the Reapers.

"Yes, understood" smiled the salarian.

"Good, then Doctor E'mil Hamiltin, this STG committee approves your proposal, codenamed Project BrainIAC.

* * *

At a time when the Alliance was pumping out dreadnought vessels and other space faring vehicles, many different designs and prototypes were being constructed. Many of these concepts were scratched due to structural flaws and only a few were ever cleared for travel. The most famous was a dreadnought size vessel that was a joint military and civilian production. It was built to be a roaming hub; a mobile space station that welcomed all forms of life. The ship could hold the capacity of a large city and quickly became known as the "City in the Stars", but most just knew it as the SSV Metropolis.

The Metropolis was home to a fully functional city atmosphere, with residences for all aboard and a main central area for people commute. It was funded by both military and civilian contracts, serving as a model of cooperation. The large vessel traveled on scheduled courses throughout the galaxy, never staying in one spot long.

The SSV Metropolis quickly became a central communication center for all major media networks for the Alliance, the most recognized on the station; The Daily Planet. The media outlet was read on datapads and omni-tools all over the galaxy, gaining a reputable status for gathering the facts and getting the stories others could not. The Planet had several sub-factions, from war correspondents to politics to cover anything that would interest the people. It only hired the most tenacious and driven people as their reporters.

The Daily Planet had its main headquarters located near the center of the city landscape-like hub of the SSV Metropolis. It had a large tower with a giant holographic golden globe spinning atop it, serving as an undisputable beacon for the truth.

"What do you mean you don't know where the Daily Planet is, how can you miss the big freaking globe?!" exclaimed the young woman in the back seat of the taxi skycar.

"I'm sorry Ma'am, it's my first week here and I really don't know my way around yet" stuttered the nervous volus, barely looking over the steering wheel.

The pony-tailed women sighed to herself, "Okay, just let me out over there" she gestured towards a pedestrian walkway beside them. The skycar tilted and hovered near the exit port as the nicely dressed woman got out, swiping her omni-tool across a screen in the taxi.

The payment came up as approved on the screen in front of the volus, he turned around as the door was closing, "Thank you Ms. Lane!"

"Yep" replied Lois as she looked at her omni-tool to see the time. She did a double take, reacting to the time and then began to walk fast through the crowds of people. People were going every which way on the large platforms that led to anywhere on the ship. The walkways were translucent so that anyone walking on it could see skycars and trucks flying by underneath.

Lois had a messenger bag on her back as she pushed and shoved her way through the crowd, "'Scuse me, coming through!" She turned and was almost jogging now through a bridge that led into the Daily Planet lobby. A large cargo truck going underneath the bridge caught her attention for a brief second as she came to a halt after running into something. She got knocked back onto the ground as a few datapads fell out of her bag.

"Are you okay?" asked a gentle voice from above her.

Lois ran a hand over her head, not looking up at the hard thing she had run into, "Yeah, must have hit a wall or something." She looked up to see a hand held out for her from a dark haired man wearing thick black glasses. The man had a kind smile on his face and well combed dark hair. Lois sat on the ground for a second looking at him, captivated by his innocence. She snapped out of it and took his hand as he lifted her back to her feet.

"No, no wall, just me" chuckled the man squaring his glasses away on his face.

"Jeez man, what were you doing just standing in the middle of the walkway?" asked Lois shaking her hands at the man.

"Uhm, well, I was enjoying the view" calmly said the man as he looked out over the bridge at the artificially created sky and towers underneath it.

Lois was temporarily lost in the view as well, never taking the time to notice it anymore. She had been living on the Metropolis now for almost two years and had got so used to the hustle and bustle lifestyle. She snapped herself out of it and looked back at the man, who she noticed was wearing a coat a size too big for him. "Right, well watch where you end up standing next time Mister" Lois said as she gathered her datapads and continued her way the Daily Planet.

The man held one finger in the air and stated, "Kent…its Clark Kent" his voice faded as the woman went into the building.

Clark had recognized the woman from when he first revealed himself on Earth, but shrugged it off and took one more look at the lively city, noting how different it was from home. He arrived on the Metropolis a few days earlier, trying to make a fresh start for himself and to remain incognito. Clark had revealed himself to the Earth two years ago and came to the galaxy to help those among the stars. Problem was, he wasn't sure how to go about it. He wanted to settle himself a regular life before anything else and thought that a career was a first step. Satisfied, he picked up his sleek briefcase next to him and strode through the sliding doors of the Daily Planet.

In the lobby he told the receptionist he had an interview with the editor, he was told to take the elevator to the top floor and find his office at the end of the hall. Clark nervously walked around the lobby and reached the elevator. While traveling upwards, he smiled at a man in the elevator, but the busy gent only grimaced back at him.

At the top, Clark got off and gazed at the dozens of desks and offices that were spread out through the open floor. He took several steps away from the elevator and looked all around for the editor's office. After searching for a few minutes, Clark got fed up and slightly squinted his eyes, causing his vision to peel away walls and desks. Scanning directly through people and other objects, he finally spotted an office labeled 'Chief Editor'.

Clark moved through the fast paced hall, trying to avoid bumping into anyone. He made his way to the office and noticed a secretary sitting behind a desk in front of the office. "Hello, can I help you?" the secretary asked.

Clark adjusted his glasses, "Yes, I have an interview with Perry White, I'm Clark Kent." The secretary checked her screen and merely nodded for Clark to go in. He opened the door to hear a middle-aged man yelling on the phone.

"No, listen, I don't care what kind of dinner party it was, you shouldn't have been there!" The man had his holopad against his ear when he saw Clark walk in, "Kent right?" he asked abruptly. Clark just nodded, not wanting to interrupt his phone call. Perry gestured to a chair across from his desk and continued on the phone, "Okay, just get in here, that top-notch reporter I told you about is here." He then tossed the pad on his desk and looked at Clark with a stern face.

"Kent I am glad you're here, I have been looking forward to meeting you after we talked the other day." Perry walked around the desk and shook Clark's hand, "I am really excited-" before Perry could finish a woman burst in through the side door in the office, already talking.

"Chief, how do you expect me to do any work when you have me meeting some hick reporter from the middle of nowhere?" The woman froze in her tracks after she seeing Perry standing in front of Clark and exclaimed, "You again?!"

"Lois Lane meet Clark Kent; Clark Kent, Lois Lane" nonchalantly said Perry as he sat back in his desk chair.

Clark got up from his seat with a smile and put a hand out towards Lois, "Nice to formally meet you, Ms. Lane."


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

It had been a slow workday; Lois sat at her desk tapping her pen repeatedly on the smooth surface. She stared at Clark Kent, the new hire of the Daily Planet, who Chief had put right across from her at his own desk. He was typing away on his holo-screen, oblivious to her staring at him. She was trying to figure him out, he seemed too wholesome to her and as a reporter she was always curious.

"So where you from Kent?" she asked with a curious look on her face.

Clark looked up from his screen and fixed his glasses, "Smallville, Kansas."

"Never heard of it" Lois replied as she nodded slowly. She was about to continue with a barrage of questions, but noticed an urgent message blinking on her own holo-screen. She straightened up and opened the message. It was from the Chief telling her to get in his office ASAP and to bring Kent. She looked up and sighed, "Come on Smallville, Chief wants to see us." Lois and Clark strode into the Chief's office.

"Sit down both of ya" gestured the Chief. "Have you two heard the news yet about Superman?"

Lois perked up, "No, what?"

At the same time Clark replied, "Who Sir?"

Perry scowled at Clark, "A formal message was received by the Council's secretaries; they say it was from the Superman himself and that he wants to arrange a public meeting between them."

"Chief I am already there, let me grab a few things and I will be on the next transport to the Citadel" exclaimed Lois standing up from her chair. She was already heading towards the door by the time she had finished.

"Good, now I want you two to be right in front when he arrives" said the Chief as he put a half burnt cigar in his mouth.

Lois stopped in the doorway and slowly turned around, "Wait, two? As in him and me?" she asked looking at Clark.

"Yes, I partnered you two up for a reason; he needs the experience as a reporter and you…well maybe he'll level you out a little bit" chuckled the Chief.

Clark stood up and added, "Mr. White, I really think that something of this magnitude should be handled by a veteran reporter, if Ms. Lane wants to do this by herself it would be fine." Clark really hoped the senior editor would agree to that, because when he sent the message via his crystalline omni-tool to the Council, he did not expect he would be the one to cover it.

He wanted to establish two entirely different personas; the heroic Superman and the mild-mannered Clark Kent. There could be no indication that they were both the same person. It had taken him some to adjust to hiding in plain sight; wearing large clothes, purposefully being clumsy and being someone who just blended into the woodwork. But all the while, he was still Clark Kent, the man raised by Jonathan and Martha Kent and that was something he could never forget. It was just a matter of finding a median and showing that Clark Kent could never be Superman.

"No, no this'll be good for you Kent. The Daily Planet's transport leaves in ten; get moving" barked the Chief as he motioned for the reporters to leave.

Lois went to her desk and grabbed her messenger bag. She looked over at Clark, who was waiting by the elevator with a smile on his face. The two of them got onto the transport which was only half full, with about six people seated throughout the small shuttle. Clark buckled himself in across from Lois' seat and held tight onto the handles.

Lois tilted her head and asked, "What's wrong with you?"

Clark took a deep breath, "I don't really like flying" he confessed.

Lois couldn't help a smile to form across her face, "You're joking?" She shook her head, "Well then hold on tight."

The shuttle bay was located directly underneath the Daily Planet. The tiny shuttle dislodged from its dock and dropped down into the stillness of space. The engines ignited and the shuttle began its way to the nearest Mass Relay.

Clark had to consciously look queasy, no easy feat for a man who could have already made it the Citadel by himself. He looked at Lois who seemed very comfortable in the shuttle, reading messages on her omni-tool while they approached the Mass Relay. The shuttle entered the orbit of the Relay and was coated in the blue energy as it accelerated forwards. While travelling through Relays, the trip was relatively quiet, with only a slight hum through the shuttle.

Clark relaxed himself and looked at Lois, "So what about you, where you from?"

Lois did not look up from her light reddish colored omni-tool, "Born on Earth and then taken all across the world to all kinds of different military bases. Eventually took up into space and lived on pretty much every Alliance space station and dreadnought out here." She looked up to look Clark in the eyes, "And now I am here. I have been reading your articles, you have moderate talent, I can see why the Chief wanted you."

"Thank you, I have actually read a lot of your articles—" before Clark could continue, a voice chimed in over the speakers in the shuttle stating they were arriving at the Citadel.

Lois and Clark unloaded and made their way to the Presidium. There was a special meeting place for all media, which Lois was familiar with, the officials there rounded up all those with the media and briefed them on what was going to happen.

"Ladies and gentlemen, today we are allowing the press into the Citadel Tower to view this momentous occasion. The Superman of Earth messaged Council, hoping to set up a meeting between them. The Council agreed to the meeting while setting up key issues to be brought up. The Council has asked that the press ask no questions and merely record the meeting, nothing more. You will now be escorted to the elevator that will take you up." The turian stepped down of his podium and met up with other officers of C-Sec.

"Ready Smallville?" asked Lois as she and Clark waited in line for the elevator.

"I guess so, how many times have you seen the Council?" Clark replied, pressing up against an elcor standing next to him.

"Not as much as I would like, but what are you going to do?" The door opened and let on about a dozen members of the press, including the large elcor.

As the elevator slowly rose off the Presidium, Clark had time to think. He looked down at the screen on his wrist and noted the time; he messaged the Council saying he would arrive within the next 20 minutes. Clark looked over at Lois, who was doing a jittery dance where she stood. _How am I going to slip away?_

When the doors opened there were hundreds of people, of all different species, waiting to get a glimpse of the Council and Superman. Lois stood on her toes to try to get a good look and eventually grabbed Clark's hand, "C'mon, we need to get closer." She slipped and slid her way through the crowd, never once saying anything.

As Clark was being dragged by her, he repeated, "Excuse me, pardon me." They made it up some stairs, to a larger part of the Council Chamber. Clark fixed his glasses after moving through the crowd and looked at Lois.

"Okay he'll probably be flying over the crowd, might be able to get a really good shot from up there" Lois pointed to one of the upper areas overlooking where the Council would be appearing. "Okay Smallville, I am going to make my way up there, you stay down here and conduct some interviews with onlookers."

In his mind Clark was ecstatic, that would give him the perfect opportunity to slip away, but he had to maintain the image, "Are you sure Lois?"

"Yea you'll be fine," she then looked around them, "good luck." She then disappeared into the enormous crowd and left Clark standing there alone.

He took a sigh of relief and then began to slip through crowd in the opposite direction. Finally he made it through the sea of people to a clearing near one of the service elevators. He found a back corner that led to a service door into the elevator shaft, which he had to 'force' open.

Clark now hovered in the long elevator channel as he closed the sliding door behind him. He did a quick glance around the shaft, searching for cameras or other motion sensors. Finding nothing, he took his glasses off and secured them in the crystalline wrist compartment. Taking one more deep breath, he began to dive down the elevator shaft. He ripped off his overcoat, revealing the bright red and blue suit underneath. He held both hands out in front of him as he shot down the shaft back to the Presidium Commons. At the bottom, now dressed as Superman, he looked around for access to the open area of the Presidium. Then he saw the perfect way to get in without causing a suspicion when he spotted the water pumps.

Seconds later Superman erupted out of the Presidium lake and into the artificial skyline. Onlookers all around pointed and gaped as Superman floated to the ground towards the main Citadel Tower elevator. He hovered inches off the ground with his feet pointed down as he approached the C-Sec officers. "Good afternoon officers, I have a meeting with the Council."

The two turians quickly looked at each other then back at the man with the giant 'S' on his chest. "Of course, go ahead Mr. Superman" one of the officers managed to say while opening the elevator.

Superman floated into the doorway; "Just Superman is fine, have a nice day gentleman" the Man of Steel smiled as the door closed. He noted in his head that this elevator was not much faster than the media's elevator. Eventually it reached the top and just as he had guessed, the officers below had radioed ahead saying Superman had arrived.

When the doors opened everyone in front of him began to clap and cheer. Superman smiled and shook a few hands before he rose above them and hovered towards where the Council was waiting. A podium was already set up for him as the crowd still cheered and whistled for him. He landed in front of the podium, which was separated from the crowd.

The Council stood over everyone with a gap between where Superman stood. They stood with the turian, asari, salarian and human councilor all lined up left to right. The only one Superman recognized was Udina, the human councilor; he had learned about him back on Earth.

The asari councilor gestured with her hands for the crowd to quiet down. As the applause slowly died down, Superman glanced around looking for Lois. He spotted her on the upper balcony with a small camerabot hovering around her; Superman figured she had it in her messenger bag. Lois smiled when he looked at her and Superman knew he had to play it off and pretend he was just looking around the crowd. After the applause had completely stopped, he focused his attention to the four councilor members.

The asari councilor spoke first, "Superman, welcome to the Citadel."

"Thank you for having me" Superman replied.

"We have watched your heroics on Earth and are glad to have you with us amongst the stars" bowed the salarian councilor.

"Yes, now you were the one that wanted to arrange this meeting, how can we help you?" asked the turian councilor on the far left. Udina just lowered his eyebrows and watched Superman.

Superman straightened up and put his hands behind his back, in a calm demeanor, "Actually, I am here to figure out how I can help you." Whispers broke out in the crowd as Superman continued, "As you may have heard me say on Earth, I am here to join the galactic community, but I wanted to do it right. That is why I am standing before this council."

"So you speak as a representative of Earth?" interrupted Udina.

"No," Superman quickly and sternly replied, "I am not a representative of Earth. I am a visitor there as much as I am here." Udina let out a slight snort and then looked to his fellow councilors.

"What are your intentions then Superman?" asked the salarian councilor.

"To uphold the ideals of truth, justice and the civil way." The crowd talked quietly to themselves; the media quickly jotted down the great quote. "I will continue to do what I have always done and protect life in all its forms. In the future I hope to meet with you all individually to discuss what I can do to help. I promise not to tread on any of your governments business and will do my very best to stay true to the morals I learned on Earth."

The crowd began to cheer and clap again, ecstatic about their new protector. Over the cheering, the turian councilor spoke with an amplified voice, "Thank you Superman."

The Man of Steel noticed a slight grimace on the turians face, clearly being forced for the crowd to be civil with him. Superman got the feeling that all of the Council didn't quite trust him and that the entire meeting was nothing but a publicity stunt to further relations with Earth. He was serious about meeting with the councilors, to get to know them better and show that his intentions are true.

The council departed from the Presidium, as Superman stayed behind to answer questions for the crowd. He didn't really enjoy it, but felt it was necessary to show people that he was a figure to be trusted. Some in the crowd were younger and wanted pictures with the Superman while others just wanted to shake his hand. The crowds followed him as he walked through the Citadel, taking a tour of the enormous station.

Over two hours passed and the crowd had only died down a little. Superman had taken an extensive tour and had ended up at one of the docking bays.

"Superman, one last question I swear," called out Lois as she butted her way through the waning crowd. Superman had of course heard her calling for him amongst the other hundreds of calls for his attention, but had to remain fair. He now turned his attention to Lois and smiled "Yes, Ms. Lane?"

Superman was floating beyond the crowd in the docking bay. Lois and the reporters huddled up against a railing that separated them from the edge. "You remember me?" blushed Lois as she pushed hair behind her ear.

"Of cour-" Superman stopped mid-sentence as a high pitched screech caused him to hold his ears in distress. The screech eventually settled as a modified voice started to speak.

"_Behold the Superman; for man is something to be overcome."_ Superman began to spin around in the air, searching for where the voice was coming from. The screech continued as he figured out it was an underlying transmission, undetectable to the reporters in front of him who looked confused. _"I've been watching you and I must say you have my curiosity peaked. I want to arrange a meeting and please do not refuse or I promise your arrival on the Citadel will not be the only breaking news."_

Superman lowered his brow, scanning around the room. The reporters stared at him, not knowing what was happening.

"_Follow the transmission origin."_ The screech's frequency changed, only detectable to Superman's enhanced hearing. The transmission shifted in a way that he could trace.

Superman looked back to Lois and the others, "Excuse me; I have to take care of something," he looked right at Lois, "until we meet again." He then turned and flew out the blue barrier that separated the vacuum of space and the dock. Superman streaked towards the middle of the Citadel pedals, searching all around for the source of the screech. He then spotted it; a medium sized frigate with no markings of any kind on the hull. He floated towards the ship and reached the port door. It opened and closed behind him as he stood in the entrance chamber.

"_Welcome Superman" _


	7. Chapter 6

_*Author's Note: Sorry about the long delay between chapters. I recently got a new job and it has really taken up a lot of my time. I hope to soon finish up this series and continue working on other projects. Thank you for reading so far and I hope you continue to do so. Have a good one.*_

Superman Chapter 6

"No, no not disagreeing with you, merely saying you should have implemented much sooner" quickly spoke the salarian pacing the small lab.

"Frankly Doctor, I'm not sure how you even heard about this; it's not even your department" stoically replied the other salarian who was buried behind three different monitors.

"Have my connections, curious though, when the system is ready how will it identify targets, an advanced friend/foe sensor?" The salarian stopped pacing and faced the other one through the holographic screens. Doctor Hamiltin, clearly annoyed by a geneticist and biology expert questioning his virtual intelligence systems, stood up and faced the other salarian.

"Doctor Solus," Hamiltin said as he walked from behind his desk, "when you came down here to this level, I suspected you had heard the committee approved my project. And the reason I had not brought it up since is because I needed something that was worth fighting. And I certainly think these 'Reapers' will suffice."

Doctor Mordin Solus was no stranger to extreme warfare tactics against enemies. He shrugged and knew that when he and the others of his STG unit came to the recollection of a weapon such as the Genophage, it could only be used if absolutely necessary.

"Mhhmm" Mordin slowly nodded his head in approval. He had not known Doctor Hamiltin long, but had respect for him. Where Mordin was talented in biology, Hamiltin proved to be adept in dealing with synthetic intelligences. Furthermore, after doing an extensive background check on someone he'd be working with, Mordin found he was somewhat of a weapons expert, having created and designed many of the salarian militaries most unique weapons. And although Hamiltin was only a few years younger, Mordin respected a person of science rather than emotion.

"Yes, Reapers, technological gods that appear every 50,000 years to eliminate all organic life. Have done some research of my own, but too busy with other projects. Hope your work goes well."

"Thank you Dr. Solus, and say hello to Maelon for me. "

"Of course, know you will do good work. Besides if you fail, everything will be okay, because now there is a 'Superman' among us" Mordin said somewhat humorously as he left the lab.

Hamiltin watched in the corner of his eye his mentor and teacher walk out. There was a time Hamiltin would have listened to anything Doctor Solus said, but now he knew it was his shot for greatness.

Amongst the STG, few if any missions are ever leaked to the public. So when a small group of scientists came up and created the Genophage, very few knew who those people actually were. It is only the people already in the STG who ever find out, if they know the right people. Hamiltin had risen through the covert institution, hoping to one day have his own christening moment when he could help the trillions of souls across the galaxy. And when he heard Commander Shepard speak of the Reapers, he knew that moment had come.

Hamiltin smiled to himself as he returned to his desk. He widened his eyes and continued to adjust the billions of lines of code that was required for his BrainIAC program. He knew the consequences if he failed and wasn't sure if even the Superman could stop it.

* * *

"I don't have time for this"

"Oh I know, you are just far too busy parading around the Citadel for the cheering masses right?" The modulated voice chimed throughout the medium sized freighter. Superman stood with his arms folded over the \S/ on his chest as he scanned through the ship. He soon found out he could see through some walls, but not all. It troubled him, because he could not definitively tell if there was anyone else on board.

"Right, so let's begin shall we?" as soon as the deepened voice ended, Superman could smell a different odor in the air.

"Trying to poison me?" nonchalantly asked the Man of Steel.

"Super senses and toxic immunity, check. Okay moving on."

Superman saw a door open in front of him. He was starting to get annoyed, but could not simply fly out of the ship or put a hole in it for there could be other people aboard. Reluctantly, he continued on with the maze he was being put through.

In the next room was a long corridor with a single path to the next door at the end. Knowing where this was heading, Superman started to briskly walk on the given path.

Out of the walls along the path, fire erupted in front of him, igniting the air around him. Having dealt with fires before, Superman didn't even flinch as he passed through the scorching inferno. On the other side of the flames, gunfire from numerous different types of weapons began to ring out. Bullets of all sizes fell and bounced to the ground after striking Superman's skin. Some of the smaller ammunition ricocheted off him and damaged the corridor walls.

Superman let out a sigh as he continued to walk down the hall. Beyond the gunfire, he saw four large launchers emerge from the wall and fire simultaneously. The rockets streaked through the corridor and impacted their target, rattling the whole ship.

When the smoke cleared, Superman continued his pace, nearing the next door. To his surprise, when he reached it, no gizmo popped out and shot acid on him or electrocuted him. Superman looked the door up and down and then noticed why; he focused his eye muscles to zoom in on the molecular structure of the door and saw that it was extremely dense, probably some experimental alloy.

Whoever was behind this was testing how strong he was. Superman placed his hand on the door and started to curl his hand into a fist, crunching and tearing the thick metal in the process. Seconds later he ripped it off the frame and tossed it aside causing the colossal piece of metal to collide on the floor.

"Are we done with this now?" asked Superman as he walked into the next room, which was small and circular. He noticed that the room had only a single monitor and nothing else.

There was a slight hesitation when the voice finally answered, "Well it seems I need to cut this short. While it has been fun Superman and I wish we could chat more, but I have another engagement I need to take care of" the voice started to trail off, as though the person speaking was doing something else while talking.

"I know we will speak again, so in the mean time I leave you with this." As soon as the voice cut off, the monitor in front of Superman flashed a giant red 'X' and then the entire room broke apart in a fiery explosion.

The whole freighter detonated, sending debris and metal into the vacuum of space. Superman was forced from what was left of the ship and sent spinning into space. Composing himself, he shook off the explosion and tried to make sense of what just happened. Whoever did this had to have known the explosion wouldn't hurt him, so why do it?

The debris floated in the space in between the pedals of the Citadel. Superman was getting ready to help with the clean-up, when his crystalline omni-tool started to chime. The sound was a hum inside his head and when he checked the crystal screen, his eyes went wide as he read that a diplomatic space station had just been attacked and was on a crash course to a local Hanar moon.

Having to leave the freighter debris for the authorities, Superman focused himself and rocketed towards the local Mass Relay; just hoping he could make it there in time.

* * *

Elsewhere

"_It all started a few hours ago. There I was the most powerful bitch this side of the galaxy, and all alone again. I had just ditched my crew, who only used me for my abilities and they didn't take the news well. Of course none of them survived, but it doesn't mean they didn't get a few good hits in" _

"_I needed an infirmary or at least some whiskey to make the pain go away. I was the last one on board the ship, flew to the closest station I could find and kinda crashed into it. Not my best landing, but screw it, thought they could patch me up until I recovered. Didn't think they would recognize me though…all well."_

"Breaches on levels 11, 12, 23 and 34. Evacuation is in progress, evacuation is in progress!" The message repeated itself over and over adding more levels that started burning. Drell scrambled around trying to help the Hanar into escape pods. The aquatic aliens moved slowly through the burning metal halls as they made their way into pods.

Hanar doctors attempted to heal the pilot of a small freighter that crashed into the station hours earlier. The pilot had numerous wounds from a previous engagement and had to be rushed into intensive care. She had remained unconscious throughout the surgery and was put into observation afterwards. It was there that someone had identified her as the wanted criminal known as Subject Zero.

Soon after the station was put into lockdown and the authorities were called to apprehend her. Subject Zero awoke during the commotion and broke free of her restraints. Following her escape from the med-bay, she tore and wreaked havoc all over the station. Eventually she made her way into engineering and blew up the entire room, causing station wide alerts that it was off course and heading for a local moon.

Blue biotic energy spewed from all over the station as Subject Zero ignored the warnings and continued her devastation. She seemed to be in a blind rage as she killed anyone who got in her way. The station grew closer and closer to colliding with the moon.

Subject Zero, who often called herself simply Jack, had biotic energy flowing all over her tattooed body as she came across a drell escorting two hanar. Anger filled her eyes as she readied her arms to unleash a shockwave of power. The hanar were defenseless as the drell stood wide-eyed at what was about to happen. Jack waved her hands forward as a flood of blue energy was unleashed down the hallway.

Seconds from being bombarded with biotic energy, the drell stood defiantly in front of the hanar ready for what was coming. But as the cerulean wave washed down upon the helpless aliens, a red and blue blur moved against the energy. The blur glided past the biotic power and in an instant the three aliens disappeared entirely.

Jack tilted her head in confusion, seeing nothing where only seconds ago stood the three aliens. The biotic shockwave continued to flow down the hall, hitting nothing but the metal walls. She slowly walked forward through the burning halls, hearing something 'swoosh' throughout the station. In the next instant the fires around her suddenly went extinguished.

"I'm guessing you're not a regular on this station"

Jack slowly turned to face the stern but kind voice, "So you're the Superman. You know, I've only seen you in holovids and I thought for sure you were a biotic too." She studied the man's reaction, as he remained steadfast with his arms folded over his chest. "But you're something else aren't you?"

"Miss, you're the last one on board and there is still one life pod left. I need to get off this station before it crashes into a moon" Superman replied as he uncrossed his arms and started to step towards the wanted convict.

"What do I care if it crashes into the moon, add it to my list of felonies" smiled Jack as she folded her arms across her tattooed chest. Superman continued to walk closer to where Subject Zero stood and got within an arm's length of her.

"Miss I need to get you off this station so I can stop it from crashing" The Man of Steel extended a hand towards Jack in hopes of her changing her mind.

"Do not touch me" Jack said unfolding her arms and staring defiantly at the costumed hero.

"Miss…" Superman calmly said as he put a hand on the criminal's bare shoulder, but before he could continue biotic energy surged over her skin and exploded outwards. Jack let loose a sphere of power all around her, sending Superman flying backwards through the metal wall behind him.

"I said don't touch me!" screamed Subject Zero as she floated in the air due to the force of her attack. She hovered back down to the metal grate flooring and peered into the hole Superman was flung through. A blue aura cascaded over here as her as she looked closer into the darkness only to see two red eyes flare open.

Subject Zero took several steps back as Superman floated out of the dark hole with his eyes searing red. He once again crossed his arms and no longer had a calm tone.

"I will not ask again"


	8. Chapter 7

Superman Chapter 7

_*Contains adult language*_

While Superman had been evacuating all the personnel into the remaining life pods, the massive space station hurled towards one of the hanar system's bigger moons. It was sacred to them because it was the brightest and largest moon that could be seen on their homeworld. Superman was quick about safely carrying all drell and hanar on board to the closest life pod and manually deploying the pods if need be.

He had checked and double checked to make sure everyone was safe, all but one; the one he was almost certain caused this whole mess. When she turned around and saw him standing behind her, Superman recognized her. In some of his down time when laying low traveling into space as Clark Kent, he took time to check criminal databases from for the most wanted criminals. He would speed read through most of the data, but he never forgot a face. In front of him was Subject Zero aka Jack, an incredible powerful biotic that has been on the run from authorities most of her life.

Superman had never fought a biotic, but did extensive research on them. He came to find out how eezo affected certain species and granted them unique abilities, mostly gravity distortion. Both his biological and adopted father had tried to make certain he could face any challenge, but he knew that when he came into the unknown of space there would be things neither of them could prepare him for. As Superman put a hand on the young woman's shoulder and was blasted away with biotic power, he realized that this was one of those times.

The Man of Steel could feel his eyes start to burn as he got out of the hole he was forced into. He realized that while this girl was human, she was still incredible powerful and should not be underestimated. Superman knew that he was going to have to be careful in fighting her, but at the same time give it all he's got.

"I will not ask again" sternly said Superman as he hovered with his arms crossed over his chest and eyes searing with a red glow.

"Ooh scary" Jack sarcastically gestured with her hands before throwing a biotic orb Superman.

Testing what could be done against biotics, Superman unleashed the heat from his eyes directly at the incoming orb. When the intense heat struck the orb, it did nothing at first, but soon started to dissipate. Jack seemed impressed as she raised an eyebrow after seeing the heat beams emit from Superman's eyes.

"Cool trick" Jack sneered as she started to run towards where Superman stood. Both of her fists sparked with biotic power as she got closer and closer.

Superman wanted to keep his distance from her, knowing what she could do if he got close enough. He wasn't sure how much more damage the station could take before completely breaking apart. As Jack was getting nearer, Superman took in a deep breath and forcefully let it out towards Jack.

The air swirled around as a vortex formed in the long hallway, pushing everything away from Superman. Jack tried her best to fight the intense wind, but lost her footing and got swept backwards down the hall. Superman stopped the air and watched as Jack bounced down the metal hall.

She finally stood, rattled from the attack and looked up to see the Man of Steel standing in front of her. Surprised that he had got to her so quickly, she started to pat herself off with an angry look on her face.

"You breathed on me, gross!"

Superman ignored her, "Stop this, now."

"Yea, okay" said Jack as she looked up at the taller man. Superman did not believe her for a second. Jack fists then lit up with blue power once again as she brought her arms up to strike Superman in his face. Before the biotic punch could land, Superman grabbed her arm out of the air faster than she could see. Angry, Jack attempted to hit him with her other fist, only for that one to be caught mid-air as well.

The tattooed convict struggled to break free from Superman's vice grip, but it was useless. Out of options, she brought her head back, readying to head-butt Superman.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you" he warned as Jack let out a chuckle and smashed her face into Superman's. It was at that very instant, Jack regretted doing that. She may have well been head-butting a steel wall. She was dizzy and couldn't see straight as Superman brought her over to the wall of the hallway. He broke off a piece of piping that ran along the wall and easily bent the metal into cuffs over her wrists. He then chained her makeshift cuffs into another pipe along the same wall.

Satisfied, Superman then took a few steps away from her and surveyed the station. His vision peeled back the layers of metal so that he could see the how far from the moon they were. By his judgment, he had only minutes before the station would collide with a holy temple that resided on the surface of the moon. He knew that the station was beyond saving, but still needed to divert the wreckage away from the small settlement.

Knowing the makeshift restraints would not hold Jack, he hoped they would at least hold her long enough for him to move the station out of harm's way. He blurred through the station, attempting the find the center of its mass so that he could properly divert its trajectory. Finally finding a stable, still intact area of the station, Superman began to push into the station with all of his might. The station creaked and cracked as it slowly started to move in the direction Superman was pushing it, all while gaining speed towards the inhabited moon.

Superman was fighting gravity as he strained to move the massive station out of the way of the holy settlement on the moon below. As he pushed, he peered through the station and saw that he was nearly clear of the buildings. In the distance, he heard metal tearing throughout the station. At first he thought it was from the pressure of the station being moved, but then he focused his enhanced hearing and heard that it was getting closer; she was free.

He only needed a few more seconds; the station would crash into the moon, but at least there would be no casualties. Superman could hear her getting closer, crashing through walls at a furious rate.

"_Just one more final push" _thought Superman as he saw in the corner of his eye a blue wave crash through the wall next to him. _"That should do it" _he thought just as the biotic infused convict tackled him, sending them both flying through the station's walls.

Jack was radiating biotic power as she propelled herself into the occupied Man of Steel. He was busy trying to save the station, leaving him open to attack. She concentrated a warp effect into her fists as she dove at Superman.

Superman recovered quickly and tossed Jack aside as they both still hurled through the station. He saw Jack compose herself against a wall with a mass effect field around her as he slowed himself midair. He felt an almost burning sensation on his torso and when he looked down at himself, he could see on the molecular level his suit and skin being torn apart.

Though the damage was minimal because of his natural enhanced healing, it was still an unsettling feeling. He looked up to see Jack toss another small biotic orb, this one traveling much faster. Superman once again let his pupils ignite and let loose a volley of heat waves upon the small orb, again dissipating it. However this time as soon as the small biotic orb began to fade another orb spawned out of it and continued to soar towards Superman.

The tiny orb struck Superman in the same area he could feel the molecules tearing and in the next instant was sent flying through the station once more from a brilliant blue explosion. The biotic detonation had left him momentarily dazed, leaving him noting to avoid biotic combinations like that in the future.

Jack did not let up as she followed Superman after the biotic explosion sent him hurling through more metallic walls. She saw him holding his head and immediately took the moment to send out a crescent shaped biotic attack that pulled Superman closer to her. He tried to pull away, but the biotic field forced him towards Jack as she readied a powerful shockwave with her arms. She was about to unleash the energy, when the entire station began to crumble in on itself.

The station collided with a desolate section of the moon as debris and metal was flung in all directions. Superman saw the station folding in on them both and knew he only had seconds to react. He saw the floor above from them was collapsing down, right where Jack was standing, and so in an instant Superman positioned himself behind her and braced himself. The floor above them came crashing down on top of Superman as he huddled over Jack, protecting her from the blunt force.

He knew she probably could have deflected the debris herself, but he didn't want to take that risk. Superman knew that Biotics can get fatigued after extensive use of their abilities in battle and he could tell that Jack was started to get tired. She struggled underneath him as screeching metal still fell on top of them. Finally it fell silent and Superman opened his mouth to ask if she was alright, but before he could, she let out another burst of energy.

"Get off of me!" she yelled as biotic power flowed off of her in all directions, pushing everything away. Superman soared into the open wreckage of the station feeling the air from the vibrant moon. Now hovering midair, Superman looked down at the blast site and saw Jack standing at the center, visibly tired. He knew he had to end this quick, before she seriously hurt herself and before the authorities arrived.

Jack gathered what remaining energy she had left and let out one last volley of biotic power. She saw Superman streak in between the attacks as he flew closer to her. She knew she did not have another burst attack in her and was struggling for ideas as the Man of Steel flew confidently at her. To her surprise he flew right past her and as she whipped around to see him, she began to feel a cold shiver her spine.

Superman distracted Jack momentarily by soaring right behind her and then quickly turning around and taking another deep breath. This time when he unleashed the air from his lungs, he concentrated on making the air as cold as possible. He started by directing the frigid wind at her feet as ice began to form around ground.

Before Jack could react she was already pinned to the ground by ice around her knees. Superman kept the icy wind coming as he slowly worked the air over her torso and arms, freezing them in place. Soon all that was left was her head, as she struggled to break free from the icy cage. Superman stopped and started to walk up to where Jack stood, confined by ice.

"I'm sorry, but this is for your own good," he said as he began to take another deep breath, "you may want to close your eyes."

"Fuck you-" before she could finish, Superman finished covering her head with ice, freezing her completely solid. Superman made sure that she was safe in the ice as he scanned her vitals; he knew she would be fine when authorities took her away.

Just as he was finishing up, a shuttle landed not far from where he stood. Out walked four turians in polished blue armor and weapons ready. They looked over the wreckage and made their way to where Superman stood.

"Hell of a mess here," one of the turians started, holstering his weapon and extending a three fingered hand to Superman, "we started over here as soon as we got the distress call. Good thing you got here first though, heard you saved a lot of lives today."

Superman shook the turian's hand, "Just glad I could help. I was able to subdue her," he gestured to where Jack was encased, "thought she just needed to cool off. I will stay and help with the cleanup, if you need me for anything else, just let me know" smiled Superman.

"We'll take care of her; make sure she gets put away a long time for this mess. But I think you have done enough Superman, thank you."

"Good and don't worry, we're all on the same team" Superman nodded as he hovered into the sky towards the bigger parts of the crash to start clearing debris.

* * *

The turians looked at each other with smirks on their faces. They had intercepted the distress call and blocked it from other channels after they heard it was Subject Zero who attacked the station. They were already en route to Purgartory, the prison station owned and operated by the Blue Suns, when they heard the call.

Even better, they heard that the Superman was on his way in an attempt to save the station. They figured that if Superman could subdue Jack, they would pose as civil authorities and take Jack back to Warden Kuril for a hefty reward. They knew that there was no way Superman would be able to tell that they weren't the system's local authorities; he would be too busy with the cleanup, plus they figured he would be too trusting.

They began to load the block of ice Jack was trapped in into the cargo port of the shuttle. They scanned her to make sure she was still alive; the warden would not be pleased if she was dead. They were just about done when Superman came back over to the turians.

He held a massive chunk of the station debris over his head as he floated above the turians' small shuttle. The turian mercenaries thought for sure they were busted and were about to be encased in ice themselves.

"Hey fellas, make sure she isn't treated too badly. I don't think she's that bad, just a little…misguided!"

The turians looked at each other, and then shouted back to him up in the sky, "Of course Superman, and thanks again!" Superman nodded again and then continued with the cleanup, meeting up with the local hanar. The turians locked up the cargo port and took off with their biggest payday yet, while all laughing to themselves as to how easy it was.


End file.
